The Crimson Guard is another iconic & cool looking figure from the GI Joe universe.

Under the GI Joe 3.75" toy line, the Crimson Guard was first released as part of the fourth series (1985). He was also available in 1986 and was discontinued in 1987.

I have always liked the design and feel of the packaging for this line and the packaging here is no different from the other characters from the GI Joe line.

So how does the Crimson Guard fare when blown up to 12" scale.

Hmmmm...I must admit I am not liking the sculpt.

At this scale, the lack of details really shows and makes the overall figure look unrealistic.

Compared to the Cobra Viper, this pales in comparison.

Maybe Sideshow could have added in more details or chrome up certain areas.

To me it just looks bland.

However, I am liking the uniform. The jacket is well made and uses a realistic looking leather material. This adds to the realism of the figure. Attached to the jacket are Affixed Rank and Medal Badges.

The front panel of the jacket can be taken out and re-attached.

Sideshow uses magnet hence making it very easy to put on and take off.

With this function, it also helps to hide the backpack strapes. After you have attached the backpack to the figure, you can just put back the front panel onto the jacket.

Unfortunately at the time of photo taking, I did not realise this hence the the backpack straps are visible in all the photos.

For weapons, the Crimson Guard comes with one standard issue rifle, a .45 Assault SMG with Folding Stock (with suppressor) and .50 Caliber Automatic Pistol. We also get a couple of magazines for the weapons.

Other items are a bayonet, 2 Flash Bang Grenades & 1 Magnetic Mine.

I like that the bayonet can be attached to the rifle.

There is a left hand drop leg holster in which the .50 Caliber Automatic Pistol can fit into.

Mine was a pretty tight fit and I had to use some force to get it in...please be careful, you don't want to break either the pistol or holster.

There is the standard stand with the Cobra insignia.

With the figure, you get 2 extra pairs of hand and the standard 'stepping' boots which is common issue for Sideshow's GI Joe and Star Wars (trooper) line.

What I really like about the accessories is the backpack.

The scale up version looks really cool.

Not only does it look good, Sideshow went the extra step to make it functional. The backpack actually opens up and you can store all spare ammo clips as well as the grenades inside.

Overall, this is a nice figure to add to my 12" GI Joe collection. I bet it would look good as a platoon of Crimson Guards!

There is an exclusive version which comes with an extra unmasked head sculpt. Nothing to shout about so the non exclusive is good enough for me.